One Verse Devotional

"I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?"

We need to keep this verse close to us at all times. If you have ever experienced heartache, pain, or disappointment in your life, this verse is for you. I love this verse because it is the answer to so many questions. How many times have you looked at God and asked, "Lord, I don't know how I'm going to get through this. I don't know how I can overcome this pain. I don't know how I can face this sickness. I don't know how we're going to pay this bill. Are You there? Can You help me?" Have you asked those questions? I have. And for each of those situations, Jeremiah 32:27 is the answer. Keep this verse in your wallet. Keep it in your purse. And when you have one of those deep life questions, take it out and read God's answer. "I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?" No, Lord. There isn't.

Are you letting some things replace the refreshment of God in your life?

This week, we have been looking at the book of Jeremiah. He was an Old Testament prophet known as the "Weeping Prophet." Yet, he gives us verse after verse about God's love and His plan for our lives. Well, today's One Verse is a little different. Jeremiah is gonna drop a little Truth bomb on us. In Jeremiah 10, God and Jeremiah have a conversation about how crazy it it that men will hire a craftsman to cut down a tree and carve an idol. How does that even compare to God? Well, we probably don't have a lot of "worthless wooden idols" in our house. Or do we? I know I have some electronic idols. I have some food idols. An idol is anything that can take us away from God or substitute His work in our lives. When I'm stressed, I turn to food. Idol. Or I binge watch on Netflix. Idol. Is food, Netflix, or social media bad? No. But I can turn them into an idol when I start to look to them for refreshment instead of my relationship with God. Let's evaluate our lives and see if there are any idols we need to give up.

God has a plan for your life, a plan for Hope and a future.

Your past may be filled with mistakes and regrets. You current reality may be uncertain and you aren't where you hoped you would be. But God has not forgotten you. He has a plan for your life. He wants to protect you from harm. He wants to give you a future. He is your Hope.

The message of Jesus cannot be contained.

Jeremiah didn't have the easiest life. He even told God that He deceived him. That's pretty bold. Our One Verse today comes just two verses later. Even though Jeremiah was frustrated, he knew that God's message was a fire in his bones he could not contain. I love this verse. I think this is a rally cry for anyone who desires to be a Light Bearer and a true follower of Jesus. The message of Jesus is like a fire we cannot control. For anyone that is serious about following Jesus, His message will pour out of us.

God had a plan for your life before you were even born.

God knows you. He loves you. He has a plan for you. This week, we are looking at verses out of the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was an Old Testament prophet who, frankly, had a pretty tough life. He is known as the Weeping Prophet, and he once told God, "You deceived me!" That's some pretty strong words to be throwing at God! I like Jeremiah. With all the hurt and pain he went through, we still find some of the most uplifting and encouraging verses in the Bible in His writings. Today, God wants you to know that He loves you, He knows you, and He created a plan for your life before you were even born. That is how special you are to God!

God will give you the desires of your heart, but He's not a genie. First, we must trust in Him and follow His ways. Then, He will give us our deepest, truest, heart-level desires.

"Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;" -Proverbs 3:9

When we feel lost, God sees a clear path.

Have you ever been lost, really lost? Maybe you were driving in a new city or hiking in the woods. Either way, you didn't know where to go next. You had lost the path. Has this ever happened in life? Have you ever said, "Why God?" Whenever we are lost driving or lost in life, one thing is true. If we could only get high enough, we could see the whole picture. We wouldn't be confused and we would see exactly where we needed to go. Our One Verse today teaches us that God's ways are higher than our ways. As high as the heavens are from the Earth, God sees the whole picture. Trust in Him to guide you down the right path.

Nothing you do for God is done in vain.

Being a follower of Jesus is not easy. There will be days when you are tired, hungry, and want to give up. There will be days that you will wonder if it's worth it. There will be days that you look up at God and say, "Really? Why am I doing this?" But on those days, stand firm. Nothing you do for God is ever in vain. You may not see the results you expected. You may not see results for a while. But God is faithful. He sees your deeds. He knows your heart. It may be tough now, but it is worth it.

I prayed for you today. Like Paul to the Colossians, I prayed that you would discover your purpose through your deepening relationship with God.